In a Jar
by sngsngsnyrslp
Summary: Madge Undersee, a seemingly normal girl, witnesses a murder, but things aren't as she perceives. Gadge AU, set in the world of Mortal Instruments
1. Chapter 1

_This was a request on tumblr that has turned into so much more. Crossover into the world of Mortal Instruments. Fun stuff._

* * *

She heard a groan coming from an alley. It sounded like someone was hurt. With her phone clutched in her hand she moved to inspect what was happening.

She saw a tall boy, leaning over a hunched body, the body letting out little whimpers. She gasped and backed away, letting out a whimper of her own when the boy turned to her and she dropped her phone.

He looked at her curiously, like a serial killer as far as she was concerned, how could he smirk at her after what he had done.

"You can see me." His voice was deep. He was much taller than her, his biceps easily visible underneath his black leather jacket. She saw what looked like a glass sword sticking out from his back. She was going to die. She'd seen on Grey's Anatomy that if you humanized yourself to your killer they might let you go.

"I'm Madge Undersee and I'm fifteen. My birthday's next week and my best friend's named Peter, but I had a hard time pronouncing r's when I was four so I call him Peeta. I've never had a boyfriend before and I love to play the piano. Please don't kill me."

He looked her over, his eyes moving from her leather sandals up to her white sundress. She felt naked under his gaze. He looked like the kind of boy her mother warned her against. What would her mother say now? She'd probably welcome her dating those boys who smoked outside of the school's gates instead of this boy who killed in dark alleys.

He leaned in toward her, his hand on the side of her head, leaning against the side of the building. "Never had a boyfriend, eh?"

The way he was craning his neck, she could make out a tattoo on the right side of his neck. It looked like a tribal tattoo, swirling symbols. It didn't look like a normal tattoo to her. Its edges were raised like a burn.

"Gale, what are you doing?"

She turned to see a girl clad in all black, a similar tattoo edging its way out of her shirt.

"We've found ourselves a mundane with sight. Her name's Madge, her birthday's next week and she's never had a boyfriend before."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here."

The boy whose name she discovered was Gale looked to her. He smirked and looked to the other girl.

"She saw me kill it."

"Not it, _him_," she said.

The girl removed Gale's hand from beside her head. "Let's go. There's no proof."

"What are you talking about?" She said turning toward the corner, only to find a lone rat scurry between the buildings.

"I'm going insane," she murmured.

"Haymitch might want to talk to her."

The girl looked her over, her mouth turning downward. "Just leave her alone, Gale."

He grabbed the girl's wrist. "She might be one of us."

"There have been mundanes with sight it's not unheard of."

"I'm not going anywhere with either of you," she said defiantly. _I'm right here!_ She wanted to scream _And I'm not going anywhere you guys want to take me_.

He moved back toward her, his face leaning into hers. "I just killed that thing over there, you think I can't take you anywhere I want you to go? I could knock you out in a second."

"Gale!" The other girl screamed. "That's enough."

"Katniss I didn't say I would knock her head against the wall," his hand came up to her neck, "Pressure points, my friend."

I tried to shrug his hands off of me, but he just kept smiling. "I'm a lot stronger than you. Madge did you say? Just humor me and visit someone I know. No harm will come to you as long as I'm near you."

"Is that including you?"

He smiled, "No harm that you wouldn't enjoy yourself."

The girl he had referred to as Katniss rolled her eyes, turning her back on them. There was another glass sword coming from her jacket, along with a quiver and a bow. She turned to look at Gale. "I'm bound by law to protect you, so is she. I mean it. Nothing or no one will kill you as long as you are by my side."

He had honest eyes. Madge believed that eyes were the windows to the soul and his grey eyes were warm and inviting. They didn't look like the kind of eyes that would tell lies and at least she would be conscious if she went willingly.

* * *

She stared up at the broken down warehouse. "This is where you guys live?" Where would they shower? The thought of Gale in anything less than what he was wearing at the moment, which was layers and layers of leather and cotton, made her face grow hot.

Katniss seemed not to have noticed her blush, giving her a soft smile, saying, "Just focus."

She narrowed her eyes, watching in amazement as the abandoned building transformed before her. She gasped aloud, bringing her hand up to her mouth.

"C'mon," Gale said, a smirk on his lips, as he pulled her through the gates. She was extremely aware of his hand on her arm. It felt hot against her cool skin. The only person of the opposite sex who ever touched her was Peeta, and he was her best friend. They'd grown up together, she'd seen him cry from scraped knees and he'd seen her the moment she woke up, blonde curls in every direction, drool fresh on her pillow. She didn't even notice when Peeta's hands were on her anymore, but Gale's burned where they touched. His hand wrapped around her forearm pretty easily and she felt his rough fingertips against her smooth skin. Her eyes traced over the black tattoo in the shape on an eye on the back of his hand.

She watched in amazement as Katniss asked for permission to go into the building and the doors opened. A cat greeted them, Katniss immediately scowled at the orange tabby cat. "I hate you," she muttered. Gale grinned at the exchange.

"Hey Buttercup," he greeted and the cat threw himself at him, rubbing his body against his leg.

Madge immediately leaned down, an animal lover herself, and watched the cat stride over to her. He rubbed himself against her crouched form, and when Madge rubbed his chin he purred.

Gale's voice interrupted her. "Buttercup, lead us to Haymitch."

The cat led them through the hall toward an elevator. From the elevator the cat led them to a lounge area, equipped with a Steinway piano. Nothing could stop her from playing just one song on that piano. She'd actually dreamt of herself and that piano. She ran toward it, completely forgetting that there was a killer behind her and his friend.

She brushed her skirt underneath her as she sat, her fingers skimming over the keys.

"That costs more than you're worth, Sweetheart."

Madge jumped, blushing a deep red, her eyes scanning the room to find the voice's owner. She heard footsteps from right behind her, right at her blind spot.

"What is a mundane doing here, Gale, Katniss?" His eyes narrowed at the two youths.

"She has sight," Gale defended, pointing to the girl in question.

"I told him, Haymitch."

His upper lip curled at the girl. "You're my parabatai, you're supposed to be on my side."

"In battle, not when you're bringing pretty mundanes to the institute."

Madge averted her eyes at the conversation, forcing herself to ignore Katniss's words, they'd only plague her mind in the future.

Finally the man turned toward her, dropping his glass of what had looked like scotch on the ground.

"What the fuck, old man," Gale yelled, looking in distaste at the liquor on his boots.

He approached her, warily. "It's you, but it can't be you. You're dead."

Madge shuddered. "What are you talking about?" she said.

His eyes had looked dazed until she spoke. "That's not your voice. That's Margery's."

"How do you know my mom's name?"

His eyebrows furrowed before smoothing out. He turned toward the other two in the room, "She's not a mundane."

"Will someone tell me what a mundane is?" She finally yelled.

Haymitch raised his eyebrows at her, "so alike."

Gale stepped forward. "It's someone from the human world."

She backed away, moving from the piano bench to the furthest wall. "What are you then?"

He stepped forward, but Haymitch stopped him. He took her seat at the piano bench. "We're Shadowhunters. Nephilim." He looked her over. "I suspect you're only half, but Nephilim blood is dominant, so you're one of us."

"I don't believe you."

"So skeptical, exactly like Maysilee."

"She's dead."

Haymitch's eyes flickered toward hers. "I know that. I watched her die."

"You guys are monsters," Madge said, cowering even further, as if she could sink into the wall.

"We're warriors," Gale said. "And you're one of us."

"Gale," Haymitch warned.

"No!" He yelled. "How many of us die for them? For these ungrateful little humans and for what? They never know about us. No thank yous. Nothing."

"She's one of us," Katniss reminded.

"Yeah and she might as well not be."

"Gale!" Haymitch reprimanded.

"Go home Princess," he growled.

Madge ran as fast as she could from the building, clicking on the elevator, as if her constant clicks would make it appear faster.

She heard Haymitch and Katniss yell her name, but she needed to get out of there. She wanted to go home, snuggle into her bed and fall asleep, wake up in the morning, walk to school and eat the muffins Peeta baked. Like none of this happened.


	2. Chapter 2

She ran out of the building and toward the alley where she had first found Gale. Her dad would kill her if he knew that she just dropped her phone in an alley from fright and neglected to pick it up. It was hiding underneath a piece of garbage and she thanked God for that. She didn't want to hear her father yell about how irresponsible she could be. She tried to call Peeta, desperate to hear his voice, something familiar, someone she knew like the back of her hand, but the phone was dead.

She walked the entire way home, trying to ignore the vague news she had received today. And she hadn't even gotten the chance to play the Steinway.

She forced her brain to think of anything but those stupid _Shadowhunters_ or whatever. She didn't think about Gale and his hand burning her arm, leading her through the halls of the Institute. Her mind never drifted off to his cute smirk. No, she didn't think about him at all.

When she got in she found Peeta in her room, lying on her bed, looking out of the window. This was his favorite time of day, when the sun was setting and the sky was a soft orange. He painted and she could tell when he was taking a mental picture.

"Where have you been?" Peeta asked, turning his head to look at her.

"I got held up by some interesting people. That's city life for you."

He nodded. "You know how much I hate to ask and bother you, but could I sleep over again?" He didn't need to turn his head for her to see the slap mark on the side of his face. She already knew it was there.

She sat next to him, leaning her head onto his shoulder. "I told you I don't mind, anything to get you away from her." She felt him nod against her head, before leaning his head onto hers. They sat like that until the sky turned dark.

She heard Peeta's even breaths against her. He had rolled over and his hand fell loosely over her hip.

There was nothing to do but think in the dark of her room, that or listen to Peeta's light snoring. She chose the former. In a short amount of time she had a headache. They hadn't given her enough information to mull over, had given her absolutely nothing except that her mother and aunt had been one of them, which meant she was one of them. If Gale hadn't run her out of there, she would have considered returning to get more information and finally play that Steinway. But alas Gale had run her out of there so that wouldn't be happening. The image of his face when he called her Princess and told her to get out was burned into her corneas. She cringed, just like everyone at school.

She heard a light tapping at her window. Her head immediately shot to Peeta who could hardly be bothered with the noise. He was the only one who used the fire escape. If it were a murderer they wouldn't be tapping at her window right?

There was a tall dark shadow cast from the window. She walked calmly toward the window, if anything Peeta was in her bed, it wouldn't take much other than her scream to wake him.

It was Gale, who was looking as friendly as he had when he was over the boy in the alley. He looked angrier than in the lounge at the institute. She nervously stepped out onto the fire escape.

"You lied to me," he growled, making sure to stand at his full height to look even more intimidating.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"Never had a boyfriend? What do you call the guy sleeping in your bed? Is that something you do often Madge Undersee, piano-playing fifteen-year old with a birthday next week, do you just sleep with men who aren't your boyfriend?"

"W-What?" She stammered. No one had ever questioned her virtue. "We were just sleeping."

He rolled his eyes. "You're going to have to think up something better than that?"

She stomped her foot, feeling helplessly frustrated at the boy. "Is this what you came here for?"

"No, which is why I wasn't expecting it!"

She huffed. "What are you actually here for, other than to irritate me?"

"Haymitch wants you to come back. He wants to talk to you."

"And he sent you at midnight for that?"

He extended his hand toward her, grabbing her hand. He brought it up laying it in his palm. It was so small compared to his. She felt a tingling when his fingers lightly skimmed over hers. "You have calluses, but you play piano."

She blushed. "I'm trying to expand my horizons, and play the guitar."

"I'm sorry," he said, never looking up from her hand. "I don't think before I talk. I didn't want to chase you off. I didn't mean to. It's just you-"

"I really don't mean to break up this love-fest between you and your-" Peeta looked Gale up and down, "secret rebel boyfriend who your father would hate, but I was trying to sleep and if this guy wants to admit his feelings for you he can do it in the morning."

Madge's face and chest burned hot and she was faintly aware of Gale growling at Peeta. Peeta looked unmoved, just bored and tired.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said, leaning to go back into her room.

He nodded, his mouth in a thin white line, his grey eyes steel on Peeta's blue ones, and both were unrelenting.

Gale turned, jumping off of the fire escape, sticking the landing perfectly.

"He's like a poor man's Spiderman, but without the sense of humor."

Madge said nothing, just continued watching until his figure disappeared.

"Was that supposed to be intimidating?"

She laughed, leading her friend back to her bed. "Shut up and go back to sleep."

They settled back into bed, their backs to each other. "I'm chaperoning tomorrow," his words were muffled by the pillow, but the message was clear.


	3. Chapter 3

_I hope you like it. It's a bit filler, but the info is necessary._

* * *

_Part Three._

The next day seemed to drag on for Gale. He tried to focus on training Vick, but his mind jut wasn't in the right place. Vick's stance was all off, but Gale, who was usually a stickler for the details in a fighting stance, could care less.

He wondered if she would be bringing along that boy who'd been in her bed last night. She had said that they were just sleeping, but he'd seen the boy's hand on her hip. He had never lain in bed like that with Katniss and they'd known each other for their entire lives, were parabatai for the angel's sake.

The sight had unhinged him in a way he'd never experienced before. He'd had girls before, but the sight of the petite blonde in that brute's arms shook him to his core. It was unsettling.

He thought of Madge's hand in his, the barely-there calluses developing on the edges of her fingertips. And then he was reminded of that stupid blonde interrupting him, reminding him that he didn't have a foothold in her life. He looked like he looked. No mundane father would want him around, even if he didn't have the runes, he was not the kind of guy you brought home to your family. He was rough. He was crass.

"Gale!" he heard his youngest brother yell, shaking him from his thoughts.

"What?"

Vick ruffled his own hair, his hands moving up and down the seraph blade. "Who was that mundane girl who was in here yesterday?"

Gale blinked slowly, thinking up a concise reason to why the girl who appeared to be a mundane was in the institute. "She isn't a mundane."

The young boy copied his slow blinking, staring up at his oldest brother. "Oh. She was pretty," he said it innocently, not even expecting a response. If it had been Rory he could only imagine the stupid conversation that would be occurring right now.

"Yeah," he said reaching behind to grab one of the throwing daggers on the table beside him. "You hit that right on the target, little brother." The dagger flew through the air, hitting the bulls-eye from across the room. Yes, Madge Undersee was very pretty.

"Do you think my mom would let me go?" She asked, tugging on the edge of her cream blouse.

Peeta tipped his head, rubbing at his chin thoughtfully. "I think she'd let you go anywhere so long as I went along."

Madge grinned at her friend, grabbing his forearm. "I think I might jump for joy right now."

"Go for it!" He replied, watching in delight as his friend jumped up and down, her blonde curls shaking each and every way.

She linked her arms with him. "Do you think they'll play "Sprawl II"?"

Peeta opened his mouth to answer, but stopped as soon as he saw where Madge had stopped them. "This is where that guy took you yesterday?"

It looked like a dilapidated warehouse and the guy leaning against it didn't exactly help its image. Peeta was wary of the dark-haired miscreant. He didn't actually know if he was a miscreant, but he sure looked like it with the way he was carving the apple with a dagger, not a pocketknife, a dagger. He looked like a character right out of _The Outsiders_, as if he wouldn't have much of a problem gutting someone with a switchblade or bashing in their head with a pipe. Peeta definitely didn't like the way he was looking at Madge, like she was a piece of gum for him to chew and spit out when he was done with her.

"He's not allowed in," he stated, staring Peeta straight in the eye. Peeta found it amusing how much this guy already hated him and it had only been minutes that they'd been in each other's presence.

He felt Madge's arm tighten around his. "Why not?"

The guy looked bored of this conversation already. "Because the Institute is for Shadowhunters and he's a mundane."

Madge looked more bored of this conversation than he had. "Well then tell Mr. Haymitch that you convinced me to leave. Let's get out of here, Peeta. There's that great record store around the block." He felt Madge's hand move down to his hand, which she clasped in hers tightly leading him away from the growling Dally look-a-like.

"By the angel, stop Undersee!" He called out by the time they were halfway down the block.

Madge stopped, waiting for him to continue yelling or reach them. She was stubborn like that. If you wanted something from Madge then you had to go and get it for the most part. There weren't many people in her life that she went above and beyond for, but, as Peeta knew, as soon as you were in that select circle she would bend over backwards for you at the drop of a hat and without asking.

He didn't turn around, but he could hear the footsteps making their way toward them. "Just-fuck," he breathed out, running his hand through his hair. "Let me talk to Haymitch about it. There are certain laws we have to abide by. I think we could stand to let him in, but I don't know about the rest."

Madge nodded. "Okay, that's a start."

The trio walked back in the direction of the abandoned warehouse.

* * *

She was happy and comforted by Peeta's presence and had linked her fingers with his while they waited in the downstairs hall.

"So what are they?"

Madge shook her head. "I don't even know," she whispered. "I kept thinking of asking my mom about this, but I just couldn't." She sighed. "She's gotten worse you know? I just didn't want to stress her out." She felt Peeta squeeze her hand. "I just don't want what might be our last moments to be about this."

Peeta put his head on her shoulder. "Things have a way of working themselves out and if not, I'm always by your side. You can always count on that."

Madge leaned her head onto his. This was often the way they sat, leaning on each other, as if one would fall to the ground if not supported by the other. It was fitting, exactly how things felt most of the time.

She heard heavy footsteps and Gale appeared in front of them. She watched his slate-colored eyes move to where her and Peeta touched, their hands, his head on her shoulder. She watched him freeze. He was probably annoyed they were touching in his sacred Institute.

"What did she say?"

Peeta sat up, but didn't unlace their fingers. Gale's eyes flickered down, but he said nothing.

"He said no. It's against the law."

Madge looked to the ground, sending a soft smile to Peeta when he squeezed her hand. "It's okay," he murmured in her ear. "I'll be here afterwards."

Gale paused, his body tense as he watched the two friends interact. "Yeah," he started, extending his hand out to Madge. "That's the nice thing. You're not bound to the Clave to not discuss our matters with mundanes, so you're technically allowed to tell him. That's what I was talking about with Haymitch."

Madge took his hand, standing up. She forced herself to ignore the overwhelming need to shiver from his touch. She'd have to get used to that. She figured it was because she didn't know him. That the novelty would soon wear off.

They stood awkward in the elevator, staring forward.

Gale cleared his throat.

"What?" she asked, adjusting her cardigan.

She watched his fingers flex. "So that's the guy from last night?"

Madge nodded. "That's Peeta."

The elevator door opened and Madge took a step into the hall, before Gale's fingers wrapped around her forearm. "Wait. That's your best friend, Peeta?"

Madge furrowed her eyebrows. "Yes, who did you think it was?"

"A boyfriend. I thought that you were just making yourself look pathetic so I wouldn't 'kill you.'"

Madge growled at him as she shook her arm from his grip. "Just show me where Haymitch is and you can leave my pathetic self alone."

Gale rolled his eyes. "Add dramatic to one of your more endearing traits, Undersee."

She followed in silence, the air surrounding them tense. Her lack of boyfriend had always been a sensitive thing for her. No guy had interested her in that way and though Peeta was handsome she wouldn't risk their friendship for anything in the world. She told herself that kissing someone was enough to make up for her lack of significant other, but when she remembered who had been her first kiss that idea went out the window.

She was twelve when her and Peeta kissed, on the same bed that they laid in the previous night, except the sheets had been covered in rainbows. She can remember exactly how it felt to have his lips against hers, the kisses sloppy at first their noses colliding and teeth clinking together. They had spent the entire day perfecting their technique and hadn't kissed since.

When she stepped into the lounge, her eyes flickered to the dark haired man. Haymitch was drinking what looked to be brandy.

"Come in, sweetheart."

Gale took a step alongside with her into the large room, but Haymitch extended his hand toward him. "You can keep our mundane guest company. We wouldn't want him running around. The Clave would be on my ass."

Madge watched Gale's eyes dart toward hers. "She wants me here though. Don't you, Undersee?"

Both sets of eyes settled on her, awaiting her answer. She looked downwards. "I think Peeta could use some company."

She could see the hurt in Gale's eyes, his face contorting into something she never wanted to see again. It shook her to her core to see the temporary hurt flash over his masculine features and to think that it was her that caused that made it even worse, it made her stomach turn.

Gale's face hardened and he nodded.

"Close the doors on your way out."

Madge watched him shut the double doors behind him, his face unreadable.

Haymitch watched her closely. She could feel him taking in each and every one of her features and comparing it to the women in her family that he had known in his youth.

"Stop watching me like that."

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards. "You're a Donner through and through."

Madge felt a surge of pride erupt in her chest. It was a compliment, she could hear so in his voice, but then her eyebrows furrowed. "Donner, her maiden name is Donnelley."

Haymitch laughed, "I guess she really didn't want to risk us finding her or you."

"I guess not, but why? Why did she leave?"

The older man ran his hand through his hair. "I guess I should explain what we do, right?"

Madge nodded.

"We're shadowhunters. Nephilim. We are constantly in battle. Sweetheart, we slay demons. Get rid of Downworlders who go rogue. Downworlders are warlocks, werewolves and vampires just so you know. Let me refill my drink while you take that all in."

Madge felt that she was breathing hard, her heart beating out of her chest. How many times had she passed one of those and thought they were human?

As if reading her mind Haymitch responded, "Yeah you've probably seen them before, but your mind would've rewrote what you were seeing and if you saw them in the day they use glamours." He tipped his head thoughtfully. "Well, the warlocks and the fey. The werewolves don't need to and the vampires don't walk around in the daytime."

"Why can I see them now? I've never seen anyone like that before until I saw Gale."

"Well, that's the question isn't it sweetheart? I'd ask your mother."

Madge took a deep breath. "I don't think that's exactly the right step."

"Does Margery even know?"

"No. She's sick." Madge took a deep breath. "I don't think she has a lot of time left."

Haymitch took another drink. "What kind of sick? Like a cold? Like what?"

Madge shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she murmured quietly.

The older man slammed his hand down on the coffee table in front of them, separating them. "Damn it! Tell me! What kind of sickness?"

Madge jumped. "The doctors don't know. She gets these intense headaches. She has my entire life, but they've gotten a lot worse lately. She used to be able to move around more, but not in the past few months."

Haymitch turned his back to her, staring outside into the street.

"Margery and Maysilee were so close. I mean obviously they were close; they were twins, parabatai. And they were out on patrol, just the two of them. That was usually enough. They were amazing together, some of the best fighters I'd ever known. I mean they weren't going to be alone for long. The rest of us were on our way. It was me, Gabe and Alden, those are Gale and Katniss's dads." He paused, taking a deep breath. "Everything happened so fast. There were tons of them, all over the place and May and Marge were fighting them off the best that they could. We fell into their trap. As soon as the rest of us arrived they swarmed on us." He closed his eyes shut, as if that could take away the scenes that were playing behind his lids. "Your mom barely made it out. Ichor all over her body. She was ready to just die with May, but- I wasn't. I loved your mom, you see. I just-I was selfish. I needed her to live, so I dragged her out of there. We made it back to the institute and I went to check on her, but she was gone. Just up and left us in the night. I don't think she could be associated with what took her sister away from her. I never blamed her for it. I knew your mother well enough to know that to her she had no other choice." He sat back onto the couch. "Was she happy? That's all I want to know."

Madge stood up, placing her hand on his shoulder. "The happiest." They had formed a bond already. That kind of thing happens when you love the same person, she figured. She felt his hand move over hers. It was rough and calloused, just like Gale's. "Thank you for telling me everything," she murmured.

He looked up, his grey eyes misty. "You can tell the mundane. You're not the one who's bound by law."

She nodded, opening the doors into the hall. Her movements felt motorized. Her brain had turned off; it felt overloaded with information and feelings.

When she walked into the downstairs hall two sets of eyes met hers, one grey and one blue. They were seated across from each other, but at least they didn't look like they were ready to pounce on each other if the other made a sudden movement.

Peeta anticipated her feelings. He had always been good at that, so within moments of seeing the look on her face he was holding her, his strong arms surrounding her. She pulled away after a few seconds. She had needed that.

Gale's head was turned away.

"We're going to get going," she murmured in his direction.

His grey eyes darted toward hers. "Are you coming back?"

She blinked at him, wondering whether or not she would come back. "Oh. Yeah. I guess. I'd like to know more about this world, if you wanted to show me."

He nodded. "Yeah. Of course. I'd lo-like to show you if you want. I'll see you then."

"That you will. Bye Gale. Say goodbye to Katniss for me."

"Stay over?" She asked when they made it out of the institute.

Peeta gave her a sad smile. "Like you even had to ask."

* * *

_Sugarcakes123: I know about Hush, Hush and the Nephilim are not the same (I'm about 90% sure)_


	4. Chapter 4

_I hope you like it. Just a bit of Gadge in this one, next one will have much more._

* * *

Chapter Four

She found herself walking back and forth outside her parent's bedroom closed door. An overwhelming amount of information floated through her head and she had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to say to her dying mother. She needed to know about it. It was all she could think about lately.

Who would she be if she had been raised as a shadowhunter? Without Peeta by her side? Would she be more daring? Braver? Stronger, presumably. She imagined a Madge with more bite. That Madge would probably have had a boyfriend by now.

She entered the room; the shades were drawn, so the room was dark even thought it was bright outside. She could just make out the lumps on the bed in the shape of her mother.

"Madge?" She heard her mother croak out, her voice barely above a whisper.

Madge sat herself on the edge of the bed, by her mother's feet. "Yeah, it's me mom."

Her mother's hand reached out to find hers, so Madge leaned onto the bed, laying herself by her mother's side. She played with her mother's frail hand.

"Tell me what's on your mind."

Madge smiled. "How do you know there's something on my mind? We're in the dark. You can't even _see_ me, let alone interpret my face."

"You'll know when you have children of your own."

Madge buried her face into the quilt, a family heirloom with Nephilim symbols covering it. When she was little she had always thought they were just artistic little somethings, but now she knew better. She'd seen a lot of them on Gale's arms, some of them dark while others were like white faint scars.

"There's a boy too. Tell me about him."

Madge stifled a grin, imagining Gale, whose dark hair constantly fell in his gorgeous grey eyes. Not to mention that he was so well built. He looked like a warrior, definitely, with muscular arms and he was tall. Tall was very good to her. She thought of his hard face and the few emotions that he let pass through the barrier.

"Does dad know?" She asked. Her mother's hand tightened around her own hand.

"Know what?" She asked wearily, as if testing her daughter on the information she obviously wanted.

"About your past life. About how Maysilee really died. Well she got jumped, but obviously not by people."

Her mother sucked in her breath. "I-I-No. He doesn't know. It was better for him not to know; so then he wouldn't be lying to you. He wouldn't have been able to handle that, lying to you. He didn't even want to lie about Santa or the Easter bunny. That was too much for him. How could he keep a secret like this from you?"

Madge nodded, her father's honesty was one of his best attributes to her. She'd always admired him for it. It's what made him such a good mayor

"Haymitch told me why you left."

Her mother's body tensed all over. "Haymitch?"

"Yes, Haymitch."

"Tell me from the start. How did this all happen?"

Madge told her mother the entire story, from seeing Gale slay a demon in an alley to him leading her back to the institute. She left out the part where he said he would knock her out if she didn't go willingly. She told her about how she returned with Peeta the next day. Her mother wasn't surprised how Haymitch bypassed the Clave's rules on humans.

"Did he tell you to come back? That you _need_ to go back to the institute?" Her mother sounded worried, and her voice rose to a normal level, which sounded like screaming to Madge's ears in comparison to the level that her mother usually spoke at.

Madge shook her head, now leaning up slightly to look at her mother. "No. Haymitch didn't say anything, but I asked Gale if he wanted to teach me a bit. I didn't make any commitments."

The area between her mother's eyebrows creased. "As soon as they get you they'll want you for life. You won't be able to see your father or me again, Madge. They'll hook their claws into you."

Madge moved away from her mother, sitting completely upright.

"Mom, I don't know what to say."

"Promise me you won't go back. You have to promise me that much, Madge."

"But Mom-"

"But nothing, Madeline. You are my daughter and I took you away from that life for a reason. You've never lost someone close to you and that will happen to you if you join them. You will lose most everyone you love. You don't know what it's like to be the one left behind, the supposed "lucky" one. It's torture."

She knew her mother better than to argue with her at this point. She knew more about that world than she did.

The thought of losing Peeta, she couldn't even imagine it. It would be like losing an integral part of herself, like losing a physical part of herself. Just the thought of it made her want to crawl into a ball.

She felt incredibly guilty about standing up Gale. She had given him her word that she would return, but that didn't seem like it would be happening anytime soon. She hadn't promised her mother that she wouldn't go back, had made sure _not_ to reply at all, so her mother would assume that her silence was acceptance of the new rule even if it wasn't.

She wouldn't go back, or at least she would try not to.

There was a pull to the institute and that path. She could feel everything in her pulling her toward the institute, her skin itching to be marked, her fingers yearned to be wrapped around the handle of one of those glass swords. She could see herself dressed in the shadowhunter gear. Black from head to toe.

But for now, they were nothing but daydreams.

* * *

Three days later, she heard a tapping at her window. She grabbed a University of Chicago hoodie, figuring it was Peeta after a hard night with his mother.

It was Gale. A shadow cast over his face, so she couldn't make out his features to see the look on his face.

She stared blankly at his figure, a thin sheet of glass separating them.

"Climb on in," she whispered, watching him maneuver himself through the window. Anyone else doing it would've stumbled, but Gale was graceful despite his long limbs. He had complete control over every bone in his body.

"Where have you been?" He asked, but his eyes didn't meet hers. His eyes were focused on her bare legs. She felt naked under his gaze and had wished she had thrown on a pair of joggers. She wasn't accustomed to this.

Boys didn't look at her like that at school. She knew that she wasn't ugly, but she'd never felt pretty. She never liked her curly hair, that seemed to frizz in every condition. It was long now, at her waist. She'd grown it out in attempt to weigh down the curls, loosen them. It had worked a bit, and yet she still didn't like it. It was too blonde, the color such a pale blonde. It wasn't golden like Peeta's. Her skin was too pale, blending too much into her pale gold hair. But Gale, well he looked at her like-like no one ever had.

"I talked to my mom about it a-and she didn't want me to go to the institute ever again. She wanted me to promise that I wouldn't."

He stared at her, his eyes unrelenting. She took in his grey irises, and wondered how they were such a stark grey, no blue, no green, and no hint of brown, just different tones of grey.

"Well then," he sat on her bed. He looked so odd to her in her bedroom. Only two other people constantly came in and out of her bedroom and that was Peeta and her father. Her mother used to be on the list, but lately she couldn't get out of bed, much less walk down the hall to her daughter's bedroom. "I guess we'll just have to bring the institute to you."

Madge sat across from him at her desk.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Aren't you almost done with school? Isn't there a time you have off in the summer?"

"Yes."

"How much sooner is it?"

Madge looked over at the Hello Kitty calendar hanging on her wall. "Twenty-seven days."

"Alright," he sighed, "We can meet up somewhere, maybe a few times a week if that's what you want."

She nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good."

He sat up, wiping his hands on his black jeans. He walked around her room, picking up several of her knick knacks, spending an extra amount of time looking at a photo of herself and Peeta at the beach. "Cute," he murmured under his breath, most likely expecting Madge not to have heard it.

"I'll let you get to sleep," he announced, slipping out the window. "Goodnight, Madge Undersee."

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_Reviews are always welcome :)_


	5. Chapter 5

_A little insight into Gale and Katniss's parabatai relationship and their pasts._

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"Gale," he heard from behind him as he tried to slip up the stairs and into his room quietly. He didn't need shit from Rory or his mother right now, so he was thankful it was only his parabatai.

She was in her pajamas, which consisted of a loose pair of charcoal colored bottoms and a t-shirt. There was a sandwich on the countertop, midnight snack. Her arm outstretched, gesturing to the seat across from hers. "Sit."

"I'm older than you, Catnip. So if you're going to tell me I shouldn't be sneaking out at night then I'm going to bed." Katniss was his voice of reason, but sometimes she overdid it.

She narrowed her grey eyes at him, a look that Gale was too often on the receiving end of. "I know better than to talk to you about sneaking around, and I know you well enough to know that you're too smart to go hunting without me, so that only leaves a few other options."

"Just spit it out already Katniss!" He ran his hand through his hair. He was already anticipating what she was going to lecture him about, so she might as well get straight to it.

She shook her head, strands of her hair falling out of her braid and into her face. "I don't know what you expect me to say. I'm just asking about her."

"You've never asked about any of the other girls," he pointed out.

"You've never looked like that when they disappointed you. I don't think you even cared enough for any of them to disappoint you in the first place."

It was his turn to narrow his eyes at her. "She didn't disappoint me. I don't know what you're talking about. I don't even know her."

She took a bite of her sandwich calmly, chewing slowly before answering, "I saw the look on your face when she said she wanted to be left in there alone with Haymitch. I've never seen you like that about a girl and look at you, Gale. You were hurt. You're all over Chicago looking for her. She doesn't live right around the street. I know that much, so you're really going above and beyond for her."

"What does it matter to you? It's my business!"

She lifted the sleeve of her t-shirt, showing him her parabatai rune. His fingers came over the right side of his chest, where the matching rune was located. "You will always be my business, Gale Hawthorne."

He stared across at his parabatai before cradling his head in his hands. "It's just a crush, Kat. I don't need to talk about it."

She laughed. "You should know better than to lie to me."

He grabbed an orange from the bowl of fruit, hastily tearing the skin off, part of the skin wedging itself beneath his fingernails. "I have no idea what the fuck is happening with me when it comes to her. Does that sound better? Honest enough for you?"

She choked on the bit of sandwich she had bitten off. "By the angel, Gale. I am not the person to be discussing your feelings with. I don't know anything about that kind of stuff. Go talk to your mom."

He laughed biting into the orange slice. "I'm just being honest. She's pretty, really pretty, right? But I've been with tons of beautiful girls, ones with bigger-"

Katniss held out her hand. "Stop right there."

He smiled, chuckling. "Fine, I guess." His face sobered as he confessed, "I'm insanely jealous with her, that fucking mundie she keeps bringing around here? I can't stand him. They just-They look so freaking perfect together y'know? Blonde hair, pale skin, blue eyes. And it doesn't help that he's known her since she was like born. How can I compete with that? I can name how many things I know about her on my fingers."

His parabtai shook her head. "I don't know. She doesn't just have an entire life without you, she has entire world that you're not in."

"Her mother doesn't want her to come here ever again."

Her eyes flickered upwards, but she didn't say a word. Katniss wasn't one for emotional conversations, the evidence painfully obvious to him with the conversation they were having at the moment.

"I told her that I could maybe tutor her when school gets out."

"Tutor for what exactly?"

He ran his hand through his hair. "Shadowhunting, what else would I tutor her in? Math?"

She shook her head. "You're getting your hopes up."

"She could be a shadowhunter. She's Nephilim," he defended. He was starting to get worked up. He could feel what Katniss was going to tell him.

"How long have we been training for this? How often do we train even now?"

His lip curled in anger. There it was, the famous Katniss Everdeen pessimism. "There are humans who ascend all the time and they haven't been training for as long as the average Nephilim. Your mother ascended for your father! Madge is already-"

"Look at how that ended up! She wasn't strong enough! He's dead because she wasn't strong enough! She's still not strong enough."

Gale eyes stayed on hers. "We die. We are warriors, Katniss. You know that. Your father died honorably."

"He died saving her." _And you'll die saving her_, was the idea behind this. She'd never be strong enough to fight alongside us. She would just be a liability, someone who he'd constantly have to look after and it could cost him his life.

"My father died in battle too. Are you saying that he wasn't strong enough?" He knew she wasn't, but he needed her to see just how ridiculous she was being.

"It's not the same and you know it."

She shook her head, turning to place her plate in the sink.

"What Katniss? You wanted to talk. Well we're talking now."

She turned on her heel, the end of her braid whipping across her chest. "Don't expect so much out of her. Her mother deserted the Clave. She's probably already given her a thousand reasons to not become one of us, to stay in her comfortable life. You know what happens if she becomes one of us, Gale. Do you really think that's going to happen when her mother's sick? You think she's going to leave her family for you, knowing that she can never see them again? You can have your little fantasies but don't be delusional. I won't standby and watch that."

He stood from the stool, the wood scraping against the floor. "I'm going to bed. I don't want to say anything I'm going to regret." Like that she couldn't possibly understand what he was feeling because she was hell bent on being asexual after seeing what her father's death did to her mother. No one penetrated that wall she had built around herself. There had been plenty of men that had tried, had tried to get her attention, but she wouldn't have any of it. It made Gale pity his parabatai. The thought of her never getting the fluttering feeling in his chest when Madge was around caused him great sadness. It was hell, but it was worth it. He was sure her mother would say the same, as would his own.

He turned his back to her.

"Gale!" She called from behind him. "Gale!"

She was right. He knew that and that's what made it worse. Madge barely had her toe in this world. The only thing keeping her in this world was Gale and his devotion to pulling her into his world so she could be with him. There was no one on the other side, in her everyday life, telling her to be a shadowhunter. If anything, everyone in that life, was keeping her rooted to mundane life. And it was only made worse by the fact that her mother, a former Nephilim, was keeping her as far away from this life as she could. Gale didn't have a chance in hell, that was becoming more and more obvious. But if there was anything Gale was it was stubborn and that would work well for him in this situation.

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_Thanks for reading!_

_Review please :)_


	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry I took so long! I'm starting summer school so I'm going to be a bit busy, but I will update! Thanks for reading and I can't wait to hear your thoughts_

* * *

The box sat at her crossed legs, the newspaper wrapping staring right at her. "Cubs lose!" was the headline right at the center. It was most likely a jab at Peeta, who could always be seen around town wearing his Cubs hat. It could only be from Gale since Peeta had already given her her birthday gift, tickets to go see Arcade Fire next month. He had been so excited he couldn't help but give her the present early. The same thing happened every year. Peeta was too excited to give Madge her birthday present and gave it up a week early.

But Gale barely knew her. What could he have to give her? It was racking her mind.

She carefully undid the wrapping paper, which was done awfully might she add. The edges crumped together, tape in way too many spots. But she only ripped the paper twice before it was completely gone.

A book lay at the center. It looked old enough with a huge symbol at the center. _Shadowhunter Codex._ She could only assume what it was. Her eyes flashed over the cover before she remembered that there was an envelope attached to the box. She carefully opened it as well. The fact that she was being so careful made her cheeks turn hot. Who was Gale to her other than a very cute boy who seemed to know about an alternative life that she hadn't lived? Who was also willing to teach her about this other world that seemed to run parallel to her own. She thought about him carefully, about the way his grey eyes traveled over her body and face as if he were storing away every detail about her just in case he never saw her again. His gaze had always felt heavy on her, like he had never seen someone like her in his entire life, a new species, but it wasn't until she had confessed that her mother had forbade her to ever enter the institute that he had looked at her like every glance may be the last.

She smiled at the handwriting. It was small, each of the letters capitalized. Gale Hawthorne's handwriting said he had a point to make and you were to listen to it. She could hear his deep voice in her head as she read the note on the card. The thought of Gale going into a grocery store to pick up the birthday card brought a smile to her face. God, she could only imagine all the strange looks he'd get with the runes that covered his body like tattoos. Not only that, but Gale had a presence, eyes were drawn to him. To those steel grey eyes and tall frame. He looked dangerous, the quintessential bad boy, but there was more. There was so much more to Gale Hawthorne, layers and layers some that she was sure even his parabatai had seen.

The note on the card was concise, not that she expected much flowery writing from him in the first place.

_Madge,_

_ Every shadowhunter needs to be familiar with the Codex. I hope it sparks your interest. I am looking forward to our lessons. _

_ Happy birthday! (Does this mean I can kill you now?)_

_ (I realized you might think I'm serious. I'm not.)_

_ Gale Hawthorne_

It made her giggle loudly. She could hear the smirk in his voice as if he were reading the note aloud right next to her, see the light in his eyes.

She flipped through the first few pages, her eye catching on the page about the different downworlders. Vampires. Fey. Warlocks and werewolves. She skimmed the page, examining the sketches. They looked just like wolves, much better than the unrealistic hybrid types she had seen on TV and in movies.

A sudden knock at her door made her jump, her hands scrambling to push the book underneath her bed, along with the newspaper wrapping and box. She would find a better home for it in the evening, after they had cake.

Her father peeked his head in, his dark blonde hair shining in the morning light.

"How does it feel to be sixteen?"

She smiled up at him. "Like I should have a new car."

He blinked slowly at his daughter. "Maybe next time, M."

"Am I supposed to be throwing a fit now?"

He shrugged. "I think so."

They stared at each other for a few moments before they both began laughing loudly. Her father ducked into the room, shutting the door behind him. "Shhh!" he said, his index finger in front of his lips. "Your mom is still sleeping."

Madge stopped laughing immediately. "Is she going to be able to go out to eat with us?" Birthdays meant birthday dinners, but Margery hadn't attended her father's two months ago and her health seemed to be on a steady decline.

Her father shook his head as he sat on the edge of her bed, his hand coming out to rest on her shoulder. "She wishes she could. You know that."

"Yeah, I know," she sighed.

He kissed her on the very top of her head. "You were very lucky to have your birthday land on a weekend this year."

She nodded. "I'd be even luckier if my dad made me pancakes on my birthday."

He grinned. "Get ready for the day and we'll see."

It was her sixteenth birthday so she figured she should pull out her best dress. A girl only turned sixteenth once and she was holding out hope that Gale would appear at her window even if he had left her a present already. She could see him now, his eyes illuminated by the moonlight and his face shadowed by the darkness. He seemed best suited for the nighttime, as if he made it a part of himself. He was most beautiful to her in dark shadows or under the moon's spotlight.

She sat at her vanity, searching through her drawers for the perfect ribbon to compliment her white dress. It was stark white and it was a miracle that Madge hadn't stained it yet. No matter how hard she tried she always managed to drop a morsel of food on her clothes, especially the ones prone to staining. The pink ribbon was buried under several headbands. Madge pulled it out, tying it so the bow showed at the front. It took her a couple of times before she was satisfied and could move on to her makeup.

Peeta knocked at her door when she was curling her eyelashes.

He shook his head, sitting on the edge of her bed. "I don't know why you waste your time."

"Waste my time with what?" She asked coating her eyelashes with mascara.

"Putting on makeup and doing your hair. You're beautiful. You always look beautiful."

She tipped her head in disbelief at her friend, "You've seen what I look like when I wake up in the morning. I am not beautiful when I first wake up."

He laughed, his hand coming up to his stomach. "I can't win with you can I?"

Madge shook her head. "Nope." She turned back to her reflection, fixing the baby hairs at her hairline. Peeta's stepped across the room to her, his lips on her cheek. "Happy birthday, Madge."

She smiled up at him. "Thanks for coming."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world." He smiled down at her, taking in every detail of her at this angle. She looked beautiful and he'd give anything to have a paintbrush in his hand to capture her in this very moment. The afternoon sunlight was coming in to the room, highlighting the different tones of blonde in her hair, making the usually invisible blonde hair on her hair apparent and her blue eyes looked up at him with such warmth, a warmth that made him feel more at home than the one he returned to most nights.

"You look handsome," she remarked, looking over his ensemble for their afternoon birthday lunch with her father. He had a green plaid dress shirt tucked into khakis with a black tie.

"I was going to say you looked pretty, but now it's going to seem like I'm only saying it because you complimented me first."

She cackled. "You've complimented me enough for a lifetime."

He laughed. "You should let me be the judge of that. You ready?"

She nodded. "When am I not ready to eat?"

xxx

The soccer ball was balanced on her foot before she kicked it up, bouncing it on her knee. The sun was setting now and the sky was a beautiful pink-orange and purple shaded into each other.

She kicked the ball, aiming at the left corner pocket that Peeta always left undefended.

He glared at her as it entered the goal and watched his friend jump in the air.

"I just let you get that in because it's your birthday."

Madge grinned at him. "Peeta, I always get that shot in, every single time."

His eyes narrowed slightly, but the happiness in his eyes was unmistakable. "You get over here then."

"Fine." The blonde kept herself on the balls of her feet, bouncing slightly, completely prepared to dive for a ball if necessary. Peeta was pretty good at soccer, but Madge could read him like a book. Every time he faked a direction Madge was already a step ahead. She could see it written on his face no problem.

The ball shot out toward the top of the goal, hitting the top and ricocheting off. Peeta had a tendency to shoot too high, especially when Madge was goalie. He had always hoped the shot would be too high for her to reach, but most of the time he ended up hitting a goal post or missing completely.

Shot after shot and Peeta missed all of them except for one to the bottom corner, which Madge had dived for and ate dirt for, but had missed. She wiped off the dirt from her Chelsea jersey and wiped the sweat from her forehead with the sleeve. She spit out the dirt from her mouth.

"Can we take a break? I've got dirt in my mouth."

Peeta grinned at her, pleased with himself for finally getting a goal in.

"Don't look so pleased with yourself, Peet."

He laughed, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "You got a million goals in when I was goalie and then you blocked most of mine. Let me have my victory." He pulled her toward him. She pushed away from him running to grab her water bottle. Her mouth was dry, the taste of dirt on her tongue. She rinsed out her mouth, spitting the soiled water out of her mouth. She rinsed a few times before the dry bitter taste was out of her mouth.

"You're a real lady, Undersee," she heard from behind her. Both her and Peeta turned to look toward the voice. Gale stood facing her, a smile on his lips. He looked so odd to her in the fading light, almost like a normal guy, like he could be a senior in high school, but then she saw the runes and that changed everything. There was no way he was just a regular high school student covered in what looked like tribal tattoos. He wasn't wearing gear, but kept to the dark colors, a grey t-shirt that clung to his biceps and chest and dark jeans.

Her face burned hot. There was something completely terrifying about seeing the guy you had a crush on when you were sweating and covered in dirt. She could only imagine what her hair was doing, curls were sticking to her forehead and the back of her neck and she could feel the baby hairs that surrounded her face in disarray. She attempted to smooth the stray hairs that had escaped her braid.

"Do you play?" Peeta asked.

Gale glanced down at him. "Nah, I'm not much of a sports guy, but you looked good out there Madge."

Her face was burning at this point. "You saw us?"

"I saw you block most of the mundie's shots and then watched you have yourself some mud pie."

She turned away in a sad attempt to hide her crimson face, undoing the laces on her cleats to put on her Chucks. When she turned around, she grabbed her backpack, shoving the cleats inside. Peeta stood next to her, throwing his backpack over his shoulder. His blue eyes shot back and forth between the two. "So," he breathed. "Not that this isn't fun, but It's my turn to close the bakery. I guess I'll see you two tomorrow. Happy birthday, Madge."

She watched Peeta's broad shouldered figure disappear down the sidewalk.

"So how has your birthday been?" He grabbed her backpack, throwing it over his shoulders. He was looking at her like he was seeing her for the first time, his eyes moving over her dirt covered body.

"Sorry I'm disgusting right now. I probably smell like a boy's locker room."

He grinned at her. "You do, but after training I don't smell much better, especially after training or getting back from a hunt. You wouldn't believe how bad ichor smells."

"Ichor?"

He looked at her, a small crease appearing between his eyebrows. "So you didn't get my gift?"

"No I did. I loved it. I can't wait to start reading, but I was kind of up and about today. I only got a chance to skim."

The crease disappeared, his head turning to look down the block they were walking down. She followed his gaze, turning around. His eyes were focused on the shadowed alley.

"I-Is there something there?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Probably just some werewolves rough housing or something."

She tried to wipe off the dirt that was embedded into her blue jersey, in attempt to seem nonchalant. "So they exist?"

"Yes and vampires and fairies. It's all in the book when you get a chance to get a look at it. I mean it's just an overview. There's a lot more on demons and how we Nephilim came to be, but all you need is an overview at this point. I can fill in the rest if we get to that point."

"_When_ we get to that point." She took a deep breath. "I want to know about this. It's a part of me. I've always felt-," she stopped. "You don't want to hear about this."

His hand was on her arm, the heat burning through the long-sleeved jersey. "I want to hear anything you want to tell me."

She smiled. "I've always felt like there was something missing. I just assumed it was the normal awkwardness associated with being a teenager, just something I would grow out of, but this makes sense. My mother has always been a bit vague when it came to her past and I always knew not to say anything about my aunt Maysilee."

"It's supposed to be one of the worst pains imaginable," he murmured.

"What?"

"Losing your parabatai."

"I've seen the effects firsthand. She's like half a person."

He sighed. "It's your birthday, maybe we should change the subject," but they were already in front of her house. He leaned toward her, "You should go. Your dad would not like to see you with the likes of me. If only I were wearing long sleeves."

Her hand came up to the side of his neck where a rune peeked out from underneath his cotton t-shirt. "A long sleeved turtleneck maybe."

His breath hitched, his left hand coming up to hold her wrist. She could feel the burning she associated with someone watching her closely. Her eyes shot upwards finding the source. Stone grey eyes bored into hers and for a moment she was convinced he was going to kiss her. His eyes bouncing between her lips and her eyes.

He lowered his head toward hers and she closed her eyes.

"Happy birthday, Madge Undersee," he whispered against the skin of her cheek right before he pressed a kiss to skin there, her flesh burning where his lips had grazed.

She dropped her hand from his neck. "Thank you."

He handed off her backpack, his hands momentarily making contact with hers. "I hope you get a chance to look over my gift." He grinned at her. "Twenty-three days."

Just twenty-three days until she would be seeing a lot more of her guide to all things Shadowhunter.

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_idk about you guys, but i cannot wait until gale and madge start training and getting to know each other :D_


	7. Chapter 7

_okay, so this is kinda filler kinda not. it's more explanatory of some things. i know some of you have had questions about parabatai so i hope this answers them. if not ask away :) also FINALLY peeta and katniss meet. :)_

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Madge glanced outside of the bakery, at the darkening skies and the growing shadows on the concrete. The days were getting longer so it was almost still light out at nine o'clock in the evening, which meant that the citizens of Chicago were staying out even later since winters in the windy city didn't allow for much time outdoors.

"Are you ready?" Peeta asked, stepping out from behind the front counter to walk her home. His left cheek was dusted with flour and he had a new burn on his wrist from accidentally touching the edge of a searing hot cake pan. He didn't complain though, just found the burn cream in the first aid kit and went right back to work. Peeta never complained about having to work at his family's bakery despite all the times throughout his youth when his mother castigated him for making any mistakes.

She nodded and grabbed her backpack, throwing it onto her back. She hugged Mr. Mellark goodbye and avoided being seen by Mrs. Mellark on her way out. The horrible woman loved her, loved that she was the mayor's daughter mostly and that's what bothered her. Madge knew what kind of woman she was and the way she treated her sons, especially Peeta, was deplorable, definitely not something that Madge could just overlook. No amount of sucking up would overshadow that.

The night air was crisp and Madge was glad that she was wearing her hoodie. It was almost June, so school would be letting out soon. Madge was anxious for summer to start. Ever since she started reading the Codex, she was more anxious than ever to start training with Gale.

Peeta looked her over asking, "Do you still talk to him?" as if he could read her thoughts. He didn't have to specify which 'him' he was referring to because Madge already knew. Peeta was the only other guy in her life other than Gale.

She shrugged, not wanting to make it more than what it was. "Sometimes he visits me at night on the fire escape. I've been looking over the present he gave me and we talk about it."

"The Shadowhunter textbook?"

She chuckled. It _was_ basically a textbook for Shadowhunters. "Yeah, he helps me understand some of the terms that I can't really get a grasp on from just reading the Codex."

"Like which ones?" His eyes moved over her face, taking in the subtle changes that would tell him what feelings she was keeping from him concerning the secret world she was a part of. This had never happened before. They had always been partners in crime in everything they had done. They both liked the arts, but while Madge played the piano, Peeta painted, and when Madge joined the soccer team as a child, Peeta had begged his father to let him join too. They did everything together, except this and Peeta didn't expect that either of Peeta's parents were going to reveal themselves as a Shadowhunter anytime soon.

"Like what being a parabatai means. It's kind of weird."

"Your mom was one of those, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, and my aunt was hers." She stood quiet, chewing on the edge of her lip.

"Are you being this secretive for a reason? Are you not allowed to tell me these kinds of things?" His voice dropped to a whisper. "Will they kill you if you do?"

Madge laughed, patting her friend on the back. "I'm pretty sure I can tell you because I'm not really a Shadowhunter, or at least not yet. It's just odd to talk about. Parabatai are kind of a sore subject for me."

"Because of your mom?" He frowned and she could see the regret etched into his features for pressing the subject.

"Yeah," she started shrugging off the heaviness weighing down her chest. "I mean the concept is really cool. It's kind of like getting married, you go through this ceremony where they make sure a thousand times over the severity of your decision. They're really rare. Not everyone has one and it makes sense. I don't think there are a lot of people who you would lay your life down for, not in that sense. We say it all the time, but would we really do it?" She took a deep breath. "It's really kind of like being married, except they're not allowed to fall in love with each other, which I guess is the point of getting married. But I'm getting kind of off topic. They fight together. I don't really know how to explain it."

"So you could choose someone and they'd be your parabatai?"

She lifted the edge of her mouth. "Well, not really. We have to choose each other. I have until I was eighteen to go through with it, but there's no one I'd really choose. It's a very serious decision. It's not like when you're four and say that this person or that person is your best friend and then change your mind the next week."

Peeta shoved her. "I chose my best friend when I was four and we're still going strong."

She laughed. "Well that's what I mean. You're the only person I would ever choose and you're kind of off the table since you're a mundane and all."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, ruffling her hair. "Aw, Madge. That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me." Madge shoved him away, smoothing down her hair.

"So that's all the they do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like all they learn is about how to fight and that kind of stuff."

Madge shrugged. "Gale's literate. Someone must have taught him the basics."

Peeta shoved her again. "You know what I mean. So they're not learning about European History or Economics? They don't go to school."

"Gale said that his mother and Katniss's mom tutor them."

"Katniss?"

"Gale's parabatai."

"His uh warrior partner is a girl?"

"Girls can fight too," she crossed her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes at him.

He ran his hand through his hair. "I'm not saying that. I know girls can fight just as well or even better than guys sometimes. I'm just-aren't you worried?"

"Worried?"

He nodded. "Yeah worried. I see how you guys act around each other and you go through bouts of talking about him non-stop and avoiding talking about him all together to make sure that I don't think you have a thing for him. I already know that you do so you can stop hiding it from me."

"Weren't you listening to me? They can't be in a relationship or fall in love with each other. It's against the rules."

"Oh," he furrowed his eyebrows. "Okay well that really clears things up."

She shook her head, laughing, but immediately stopped when she heard a crash come from an alley across the street. Ever since Madge had found Gale and Katniss in that alley she was hyperaware of anything that possibly went bump in the night. Peeta saw her reaction, and bumped her. "It's probably a stray cat or dog."

She heard a grunt and shuffling and clutched Peeta's arm trying to rush him down the street. "Let's go."

Madge gasped, her grip on Peeta tightening, as Gale appeared in the mouth of the alley a limping Katniss by his side. "Gale!" He looked up, his grey eyes wide. Madge and Peeta ran across the street. "Is she okay?"

Gale laid Katniss's slumped body against the side of the building at the edge of the alley, the steetlight's glow showing the scrape on the apple of her cheek. He pulled out his stele, Madge knew what that was now, and drew a sloping figure onto her injured stomach. Katniss winced with each swipe of the stele across her tan skin. Gale didn't even have to lift her shirt to get to the wound because the cotton t-shirt she had been wearing was torn and looked as if something had burnt through it. Ichor. She thought she had read something about it in the Codex. It was something like demon blood, if memory served her right.

Katniss's breath was heavy and her eyes were shut tight. Her signature braid was messy with strands of hair sticking out from it every which way and was thrown over her shoulder.

Madge dropped to her knees. "Katniss?"

The brunette's grey eyes opened slowly and widened in surprise as they registered who was in front of her. "Madge?" She murmured, sounding dehydrated. The blonde reached into the side pocket on her backpack and pulled out her water bottle, lifting it to the injured girl's mouth. Katniss drank so intensely that water escaped from the edges of her mouth trailing down her neck. Madge turned to ask Peeta a question and noticed where his eyes were. His eyes were glued to Katniss. She'd never seen him look at any of the girls at school like that. He looked at her like she was a living piece of art.

Gale elbowed him in the ribs noticing the same thing Madge just had.

Even injured and covered in grime she looked beautiful. Madge couldn't blame Peeta for being so taken by her. He coughed and muttered something under his breath to Gale. Gale didn't look pleased, but said nothing back to him.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Yes she is," Katniss muttered, trying to stand with the wall's assistance. Her eyes flickered open, looking over Peeta but without the obvious admiration he had for her. "Is this your mundie?"

"Mundie?" Peeta asked at the same time that Madge murmured, "Yes."

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?"

"You're a mundane," Gale muttered, wrapping his arm around Katniss's waist. She leaned into him, putting her arm around his shoulder. "A boring old human. Nothing against you."

"That nickname is annoying."

Madge interrupted him, giving him a look. "You guys need to get back to the Institute. Katniss looks like she could use some rest."

The brunette nodded, leaning her head onto her parabatai's shoulder.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Madge," Gale said.

Madge shook her head. "No, you won't. We're going to the concert tomorrow night and won't be back until late."

He paused. "Oh, yeah I forgot. Maybe another day then," he adjusted Katniss. "Have fun, I guess. Be careful."

The two blondes watched the slouched figures stumbling with each step.

"Do you guys need help?" Peeta yelled, watching them stagger down the sidewalk.

Gale peered over his shoulder at the mundane. "We're just down the block, but er-thanks for offering."

He nodded, shoving his hands into his pocket. "So that's Katniss?"

Madge nodded, her eyes following the slouched figures move further down the block.

"She's uh-"

"Yeah I know," Madge said, a smirk on her lips. "Get your head in the game, Mellark. We've got a concert tomorrow."

He shoved her playfully. "You're right and I guess that means you should get your eyes off of Gale's butt."

She growled, shoving him back. "Shut up mundie."

* * *

_i am super excited for the concert. i've got some big plans ;)_


	8. Chapter 8

_...so things happen. enjoy!_

* * *

Gale tried not to be nervous. Things were different now that she knew more about the parallel world that ran alongside the mundane was she was raised in. It almost regret giving her a copy of the Codex to begin with. Before she had been ignorant to the world he lived in. It might as well not have existed; he might as well not have existed. Not to mention that now whatever had been blocking her sight seemed to have been lifted. She had all the knowledge, but he had yet to train with her. Teach her how to defend herself from all of the monsters watching in the dark.

He was all nerves. It took everything in him to not sneak into the venue without her knowledge, just to watch. Though he feared if he did do that he might be bringing on her wrath. It would be warranted too, but the last thing he wanted was to get on Madge's bad side. He wanted her to see him in the good light that most others never got the chance to see.

Downworlders basically ran the nightlife in this city and most other ones to be frank. They did their best to go on patrol to make keep the demons in check, but downworlders were a different story. Shadowhunters weren't allowed to kill downworlders just because their potential proximity to Madge made Gale nervous. For the most part Nephilim stuck to ridding the city of demons, the reason why they were created in the first place.

He didn't need to babysit a girl who most likely didn't need or want to be babysat by him.

He started to talk himself down. Plenty of people went to concerts and clubs and left unharmed. Not to mention that the mundane was with her. He may not be a trained soldier, but he looked strong enough to handle himself and care for Madge too. At least he would hope that was the case.

He called up the stairs for Katniss. They were scheduled to patrol tonight.

xxx

Madge rocked herself back and forth on the balls of her feet. Peeta turned to her grinning. He was mimicking her, rocking at the same tempo as she was. Arcade Fire was up next and while the opening band had been decent, they were anxious for the main act.

"Do you understand just how excited I am?" Madge exclaimed. Her smile lit her entire face up and Peeta knew just how pleased she was with his gift. Music was her calling, it was everything to her and seeing her this happy filled him with glee.

Peeta threw his arm around her, his hand coming up to run through her bangs and then moving onto the back of her head giving her a noogie and effectively ruining her hair. She roughly pushed him away from her, laughing and sending him into a stocky red head.

The red head snarled at Peeta, shoving him back toward Madge who grabbed his arm, giving the red head a confused look. There was no reason for him to get so upset, especially not at Peeta, who she had pushed into him. She apologized profusely, giving her best pouty lip and puppy dog eyes. All from her mother's etiquette training coming into play, you've got to look as sorry as possible. The red head seemed momentarily appeased at the beautiful blonde's apology.

Peeta wrapped his arms around her, holding her to his side, his chin on her head. "Okay…'' He murmured, trailing off.

Madge could've sworn she heard someone growl behind them, but when she turned to see if it was the red head he was already gone, another group of lanky hipsters in his place.

Arcade Fire's set went by way too fast for their liking. Peeta and Madge sang along to each and every song, despite all the odd looks they were getting from the surrounding audience members. Their eyes were glued to the group of figures on the stage. Everything was perfect. There was no way that the peculiar guy, who was obviously looking for a fight was going to ruin their night. What was the use in being so belligerent? It made no sense to her, especially not when the band playing was so amazing.

This had been the perfect birthday present, a day she would never forget.

There were swarms of concertgoers, packed like sardines in the medium-sized venue. It took quite a bit of time after the concert ended before they were able to get out into the crisp spring air.

The belligerent guy was leaning against the wall outside the club, his eyes moving over the blonde couple, whose arms were linked. Madge saw him first, quickly averting her eyes and attempted to usher Peeta toward a busier street where they could flag down a taxi.

Peeta had no idea, a mellow smile on his lips and one arm wrapped around her shoulders while the fingers of his other hand absent-mindedly ran through his blonde strands constantly, a common habit that occurred whenever he was without his Cubs hat.

The air felt odd, not the usual feeling she got after attending a concert, and definitely not the feeling she associated with cool spring nights. Madge felt the need to constantly check behind her just in case the red head decided to follow them. Peeta looked over his shoulder, in the same direction as Madge, his eyes moving over the same street Madge was and seeing nothing.

"Don't worry, M. I'm here to take care of you. I may not be a shadowhunter, but I can bench press a sack of flour and wrestle with the best of them."

She gave him a half-hearted smile. Something bad was going to happen. She was getting a horrible premonition, this feeling deep in her bones.

It doesn't mean that it's not a surprise when someone tugs Peeta back. Madge gets pulled back as well, from their linked arms, but he unlinks them almost immediately. When she falls to the ground, her cheek scrapes against a rock and he's not there to catch her or help her. He's not there because he is too busy being jostled about by the red head.

It's not even that Peeta can't fight (he does have two older brothers), it's that the red head had caught him completely off guard. All he did was accidentally get pushed into the guy, nothing more. This isn't Peeta. He has never been one to look for fights, and never would put Madge in harm's way, not if he could help it.

Peeta tackled the red head to the ground and attempted to hold him there. It worked for a moment before Peeta yelled out his grip loosening on the stranger, who had found his way out of Peeta's hold and went running into a scarcely lit alley.

Peeta stared up at Madge from his place on the sidewalk, his hand on his shoulder. He looked like a little boy to her then, the exact same look on his face as when they were children and he showed up at her house with a new bruise.

"What happened?" Madge asked, crouching down next to him to check him for injuries. Other than the dirt from the sidewalk getting on his clothes, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him. At least that's what she thought before he said the next sentence.

"He bit me," he was shocked, his blue eyes wide.

Madge's eyes flashed to where his hand was covering his shoulder, gently removing it and looking at the bite wound closely. She hadn't exactly memorized the Codex yet, but there were a few pages that she had spent a longer time examining. This included the pages concerning downworlders, though there weren't many. It didn't resemble the vampire bite drawing in the Codex, no it looked a lot more like the bite marks of another species of Downworlder.

With trembling hands, she reached into her pocket, pulling out her cell phone, which thankfully hadn't been damaged during her fall. She bit the skin on her left ring finger while the line rung, the droning sound filling her ears. "Pick up, pick up," she murmured.

"Madge," Gale answered, sounding worried, "Is something wrong?"

Madge breathed into the phone's receiver her next words stuck in her throat. Saying it aloud meant accepting it, that something worse than a short street brawl happened. "Gale," she cried, her voice breaking, "It's Peeta. He's been bitten."

* * *

_thoughts? i'm kinda nervous about this._


	9. Chapter 9

_so a bit is happening here. sorry for taking so long. _

* * *

Gale stepped forward, grabbing Madge's hand. "He's got a 50/50 chance of not contracting the disease."

Madge allowed him to take her hand, but didn't dare step away from her friend. "Disease?"

The shadowhunter avoided her gaze, instead looking at his parabatai. With the hand that wasn't holding hers he rubbed the back of his neck, looking as if he was sorry to have even said anything in the first place.

"What do you mean disease? He isn't going to be sick or anything, right? It's not like he's dying." Her blue eyes looked into his grey ones, almost forcing him by her own sheer will alone to look back at him, despite not wanting to disappoint her.

"We just don't really get involved with downworlders so much. It's just not something we do."

Her dark blonde eyebrows furrowed, the skin between her eyebrows crinkling in confusion and aggravation. She pulled her hand away from his. "I'm not like you guys. I'm like him." She stepped back, grabbing his hand in hers.

xxx

Gale had insisted on walking the pair of friends home, no matter how many times Madge rolled her eyes and refused. His parabatai had gone home alone, barely saying goodbye as she stepped away into the darkness.

They were alone now. Peeta had said goodnight, sneaking his way through her bedroom window, the pair watching as he did so. He wasn't as graceful as Gale, with his stocky figure, but he did well enough on his own.

"You know you need to be careful around him now," Gale tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her cheek. Her sandy blonde eyebrows furrowed while her eyebrows simultaneously narrowed. It took everything in her to not push his hand away from her face. How could he stand there and talk that way about Peeta and be so sweet to her? Peeta was her best friend. They came in a package. As far as she was concerned you couldn't like her and not like him. She would've stepped back, pushing his hand away, but she couldn't stand to see the hurt look on his face, see the look he gave her when she said she wasn't one of them and grabbed her friend's hand.

"What are you talking about? What are you not telling me? Why do you keep talking about him like that?"

"He has a 50/50 chance of becoming a werewolf and you're not even trained just in case something happens."

"What would happen? It's Peeta. He's my best friend in the entire world. He would never hurt me. He would never hurt anyone." She was reminded of the boy who would sneak into her window so many nights, his eyes watery from unshed tears and a bruise on one of his cheeks. Even now that he could actually overpower her he did nothing. He wasn't like his brothers, who had stopped the abuse as soon as possible. Peeta had taken it, turning his metaphorical cheek. She could never imagine him raising his hand to her.

"He might not be the same Peeta. There's a chance that he might become a werewolf and I'm just not comfortable with him sleeping over."

She shrugged his hand away from her face this time, ignoring the hurt look on his face. This was too much. It was Peeta they were talking about. "Well it's a good thing that you don't have a say in the matter, isn't it?"

"You're being really naive right now, Madge. You don't know what he's capable of if he's turning."

"_If,"_ she said, throwing her hands in the air. "You said there's a 50/50 chance that he's not changing. You're acting like it's a 100% chance." She shook her head, her blonde curls moving from side to side with each shake. "And I don't care! He could be turning into a werewolf and that wouldn't change the fact that he's my best friend in the entire world. I know that you guys have these negative feelings toward downworlders, but I don't."

"I'm just looking out for you. I worry about you." His voice softened and she couldn't help but lighten her attack.

He was worrying from a good place instead of the prejudiced one that she had assumed he was coming from. "Thank you for worrying about me, but I'll be fine. Peeta would never hurt me. You just don't know him like I do." She moved forward, wrapping her arms around his middle. Even though they had gotten closer in the past weeks, touching him still made her nervous, her stomach exploding with butterflies, her cheeks flaring. But he looked like he could use some assurance that she still liked him despite her relentless defense of her potential werewolf best friend. "If you're that worried we could maybe start training."

He nodded into her hair, his next words, spoken against her scalp. "I'd like that."

The two stood embracing for a few moments longer than necessary. The material of his leather jacket was cool against her fingers. The night air was fresh, the air whipping her curls around, while her cheek was pressed against the cotton t-shirt he wore underneath the jacket. It was the only article of clothing he was wearing that wasn't leather.

The young shadowhunter was upset, but was counting to ten in his head. Peeta sleeping next to Madge on a normal day didn't sit well with him, but the thought that he might be turning really didn't. The only thing keeping him from pulling the blonde out of her room was the petite blonde in his arms. He took a deep breath, stepping back and pressing his lips to her forehead.

"Call me if anything happens, okay?"

She nodded, turning toward her front door. Gale watched her unlock the door, returning the wave she sent. He stayed a few moments, his eyes finding hers in her bedroom window. He nodded to her before walking in the direction of the institute. Vibration went through his back pocket, he had received a new text message.

"_Don't think that I didn't notice you were at the venue in barely ten minutes_."

He laughed. She was more perceptive than he gave her credit for. He should've known better than to think he could get one over on her. Despite the fact that he was conflicted, several emotions surging through him all at once, she still knew how to make him smile and laugh.

xxx

After sending Gale the text and waving goodbye from her window she fell to her knees, ignoring Peeta's soft footsteps pacing back and forth her bedroom floor. With each step his feet would skim forward, his socked-covered feet sliding across the hardwood floors. Her knees knocked heavily against the floor and she scrambled to find the Codex located underneath her bed.

Peeta's eyes flew toward her, watching as she tore through the book, turning each page with vigor. Her azure eyes searched the pages momentarily before tearing throught he next page.

"I've gotta find it," she mumbled underneath her breath. "I just have to find it." She stopped at two pages. There was a diagram of a wolf on one page and a full page of script on the other. Her eyes scanned the page, her eyes moving impossibly fast through each line, back and forth and back and forth, the same motion over and over again.

The young man stopped pacing, kneeling down beside his friend. She was frantic and needed to step away from the book. That much he knew.

He pulled her away from the book, one arm around her shoulders, pressing her back against his chest. Her head dropped immediately, tears falling onto his forearm.

She attempted to press foreward against his restraining arm. "I have to fix this. We have to fix you."

His breath skimmed the top of her hair. "There's nothing we can do. Gale and Katniss can't help me."

"There has to be someone. Most wolves are in a pack. We can find a pack."

"It's not even one hundred percent that it's happening though, M. Just stop, okay?"

She took a deep breath, nodding against his arm. "We have to be prepared. It could happen."

"I-I know. We'll figure something out. Just let me worry about it. Everything will be okay. I promise."

He'd forced her to bed after she'd read the two pages over and over again. It wasn't until her breathing had evened out that he had reached underneath the bed, pulling out the book and finding the bookmarked page. He breathed deeply before using his phone as a flashlight, the light illuminating the wolf figure. His fingers moved over the diagram, moving over the wolf-like body. In two weeks time there was a chance he could become what was staring back at him. Every moon he'd turn, unable to fight it. The book didn't give much description about anything. Most of the stories were true. Silver would become his kryptonite.

There was nothing in the book about him needing to join a pack. There was a bit on the Praetor Lupis, a group who overlooked new downworlders. Peeta figured it had to be sort of like Big Brothers, Big Sisters, just with a distant Big Brother or Big Sister, who watched your every move.

He stilled, turning his phone's light on his chest as Madge rolled over. He stopped breathing momentarily, feeling as if each breathe was as loud as a scream.

"Go to sleep," Madge murmured into her pillow, her hand on his shoulder. "We'll figure everything out this weekend."

He closed the book, taking a breath, and pushing it underneath her bed. "Goodnight."

* * *

_who do you think is going to be in the wolfpack, eh? it might surprise you._

_(gonna meet them next chapter)_


End file.
